Snare and timbal quick change swivel attachments for bass drum



SNARE AND TIMBAL QUICK CHANGE SWIVEL ATTACHMENTS FOR BASS DRUM Filed May 25, 1957 INVENTOR. J EROME BENDETT BY WJMQ4 Attorney United tates Patent SNARE AND TIMBAL QUICK CHANGE SWIVEL ATTACHNIENTS FOR BASS DRUM Jerome Bendett, Bethpage, N. Y.

Application May 23, 1957, Serial No. 661,056

1 Claim. (Cl. 84-421) This invention pertains to musical instruments, such as drums. More particularly, it is concerned with an advantageous arrangement whereby snare and timbal drums are swivelly associated with a bass drum.

The bass, snare, and timbal drums are musical instruments particularly suited for dance music. The bass and snare drums are conventional to American type music; whereas the timbal drums are associated with Latin type music. Both types of music are very popular. Nowadays, it is common at dance affairs for the band to switch during the occasion several times from one type of music to the other. This transfer operation is troublesome, particularly for the drummer. It means setting up different stands, inserting and removing different drum supports, mounting the timbals and removing the snare, or mounting the snare and removing the timbals. This wastes time, upsets the orderly procedure and atmosphere of the occasion, requires added room, causes crowding, creates excess baggage, and in general becomes a nuisance.

Now, I have devised a simple and desirable arrangement of the snare and timbal drums in combination with the bass drum whereby the diliiculties and annoyances mentioned above are avoided.

A feature of the invention is a pair of swivel devices which are associated with the bass drum. One of these supports the snare drum and the other supports the timbals, so that either the snare or the timbals may be swiftly positioned in front of the drummer or moved out of the way without creating a disturbance of any kind.

Another desirable feature of the invention lies in the fact that the swivel devices are removable from the bass drum, so that the latter may be packed or carted away at the end of an affair unencumbered by the swivel devices.

A still further feature of the invention lies in the economical structure and practical nature of the swivel devices and their association with the bass drum.

A general object of this invention is, therefore, to avoid the customary nuisances and annoyances that beset the drummer when he is required to rearrange his various drums for different types of music.

A further object of this invention is to use the bass drum as a common support for certain devices whereby the various separate drums of the drummer may be associated together as a unit and each drum made readily accessible to the drummer as needed.

A still further object of this invention is to use the bass drum as a common support for certain swivel devices accommodating the snare and timbal drums, whereby the latter devices the snare and timbal drums may be selectively swung to or away from the front area of the bass drum. I

The invention further lies in the particular construction and arrangement of the various components thereof, and also in their cooperative association with each other to effect the results intended herein.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear more fully hereinafter from a consideration of the detailed description which follows, taken together with the accompanying drawings wherein an embodiment of the invention is illustrated. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for purposes of illustration and description, and are not to be construed as defining the limits of the invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a side elevational view of a drum assembly embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a detail of the snare drum mounting bracket;

Fig. 3 is a top plan of the pivot supporting bracket for the timbal drums;

Fig. 4 is a top plan of the swivel arm associated with the snare drum; and

Fig. 5 is a schematic showing of the assembly in Fig. l directed to illustrating the arrangement of the snare and timbal drums at the front and to the side of the bass drum.

Now, to further facilitate an understanding of the invention, reference is directed to the several drawings as this description continues in greater detail. In the drawings the assembly embodying the invention includes a bass drum 1, a snare drum 2, and a set of timbals 3. A swivel device, generally designated 4, supports the snare; and another swivel device, generally designated 5, supports the timbals. The intended arrangement is such that (Fig. 5), when American type music is to be played, the snare 2 will be swung to a position at the front end of the bass drum, as appears in the broken line, and the timbals will be swung out of the way to the side of the bass drum, as appears in the broken line. When Latin music is to be played, the location of the snare and timbals will be reversed.

The bass drum 1 is of'conventional structure and includes front and rear skin heads 6 and 7. The latter are detachably mounted in conventional manner, not shown, to close over corresponding open ends of a cylindrical wall 8 forming the body of the drum. The usual leg supports, not shown, are provided to support the drum upon the floor. The bass drum is further equipped with the usual foot pedal and associated hammer at the front head, but not shown here.

The swivel device 4 for supporting the snare drum 2 includes a mounting bracket 9. The latter comprises a pivot supporting block 10 having an inner concaved face 11 conforming to the curvature of the drum wall 8. This block is mounted at the side of the drum, about half way up, 'to the wall 8. It is held rigid to the latter by screws 12 which pass through the wall of the drum and thread into the block. Suitable washers 13 are disposed below the heads of the screws. The block has a vertical elongated cylindrical bore 14 which opens out through the top of the block. A reduced counterbore 15 opens out through the bottom end of the block.

The swivel device 4 further in ludes a vertically dis posed pivot member 16 which is slidably inserted for pivotal movement in the bore 14. The upper end of the pivot member is fixed in the depending leg 17 of a degree elbow 18. An under shoulder 19 of the latter bears upon the top wall surface of block 10 and thus limits the extent to which the pivot member depends into the bore. Fixed in the other leg 20 of the elbow is a horizontally disposed tubular arm or pipe 21. The opposite end of the latter is fixed in a stem 22 of a T-fitting. The cross piece 23 of the latter has a vertical position and has a vertical bore therethrough. Slidably inserted in the bore of the cross piece 23 is the elongated depending cylindrical stem 24 of a conventional instrument support 25. The stem 24 has a close fit in the cross piece so as to avoid side play and wobbling of the instrument support. The stem of the latter carries a head piece 26 having an under shoulder 27 which is adapted to rest upon the top end of the cross piece of the T-fitting when the stem 24 is fully inserted in the cross piece.

Anchored to the head piece 26 of the instrument support is a plurality of horizontally disposed fingers,28 .the ends of which form seats .29 having upstanding backs 39. The snare drum 2 is adapted to be tightly seatedupon the seats 2? and to be held thereon by the backs 30 of the seats which press resiliently against the side wall of the snare drum.

The height of the snare drum may be adjusted as desired by elevating or lowering the stem of the instrument support in the T-fitting, and its position may be set by tightening the set screw 31 which threads into the cross piece of the T-fitting.

The arm 21 of the swivel device is pivotahleon its pivot 16 on the block in a horizontal plane so as to carry the instrument support at its free end and the associated snare drum 2 from a position (broken line Fig. 5) beyond the front end of the bass drum to a position (full line Fig. 5 away from the front end and to the side of the drum. The free end of the arm 21 bends, as appears in Figs. 4 and 5, slightly inward toward the longitudinal axis of the bass drum so as to locate the snare drum more towards the front area of the drum. The extent of this bend is a matter of choice. A slight bend is, however, desirable.

Due to the extension of the arm 21 and the end weight of the snare drum, and further due to the side location of the mounting bracket 9, there may be in a fully lateral disposition of the arm 21, as in the full line position in Fig. 5, a tendency of the brass drum to tip over. This is avoided by a leg support 32. The latter is insertable in the under counterbore of block it and its free end carries a rubber tip 33 which is adapted to rest upon the floor.

The swivel device 5 for supporting the timbal drums 3 includes a pivot supporting bracket 34 which is mounted to the peak or top of the cylindrical wall h of the bass drum. The bracket may be cast, and includes an arcuate plate 35. The latter abuts against the inner face of the drum wall and conforms to the contour of the latter. Integral with the plate is an open ended stub cylinder 36 vertically disposed and projecting in part below the plate and in part above the outer surface of the drum wall. The upper projecting portion 37 of the cylinder projects through a hole formed in the peak of the drum wall and extends preferably a little above the surface of the latter. The vertical axis of the cylinder 36 is perpendicular to the horizontal axis of the bass drum. A pair of screws 38, nuts 39, and washer elements 40 associated with holes 41 of the plate and complementary holes of the drum wall serve to rigidly hold the bracket 34 to the latter.

The swivel device 5 further includes a horizontally dist posed elongated arm 42. One end of the latter is fixed in a leg 43 of a 90 degree elbow. Fixed in the other leg 44 of this elbow is a depending stub shaft 45 which is slidably inserted in the stub cylinder 36, and serves as a pivot enabling swivel movement of the arm 42 in a horizontal plane. A shoulder 46 on the elbow leg 44 is adapted to bear upon the top end of the stub cylinder. The opposite'end of arm 42 is fixed in the stem 47 of a T-fitting, the cross piece 48 of which is vertically disposed. Slidably inserted in a vertical bore through this cross piece is the depending stem 49 of an instrument support 50. The latter has an enlarged head 51 which is adapted to bear upon the top end of the cross piece 48 when the stem 49 is in its lowermost position. The head 51 has a pair of upstanding fingers 52, each of which is adapted to engage in a loop or slot 53 at the side of a timbal drum. The stem 49 may be raised or lowered in the cross piece so as to adjust the elevated position of the timbals as desired. The adjusted position may be set by tightening the thumb screw 54 which threads into the side of the cross piece of the T-fitting. The stub cylinder projects above the peak of the bass drum sufliciently to enable the arm 42 to swing freely in a horizontal plane without possibility of the associated elements thereof rubbing against the bass drum.

It is clear by the arrangement of the swivel supporting device 5 that the arm 42 may be swung on its pivot in a horizontal plane above the bass drum so as to carry the timbals to any desired position at the front end of the drum or away from the front end of the drum, see the broken and full line positions in Fig. 5.

As mentioned above the pivot ends of the respective swivel devices are slidably inserted in their respective pivot brackets, and the instrument supports are likewise slidably inserted in the cross pieces of their respective swivel devices. Thi advantageous arrangement permits the instrument supports to be readily removed from the swivel supporting devices, and permits the latter to be readily lifted free of their mounting brackets. This enables the removable elements to be packed free of the bass drum so as to facilitate portage of the latter.

Although an embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described in detail, it is to be expressly understood that the invention is not limited thereto. Various changes can be made in the design and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as the same will now be understood by those skilled in the art; and it is my intent, therefore, to claim the invention not only as shown and described, but also in all such forms and modifications thereof as may be reasonably construed to fall within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

The combination comprising a bass drum having a cylindrical wall body open in its front and rear ends and having front and rear skin heads closing over these open ends, a pivot supporting bracket atfixed to the side area of the wall of the bass drum adapted to swivelly support a horizontally disposed instrument supporting arm, wherein the bracket includes a vertically disposed block mem her having a vertical bore therein opening out of its .top wall, an inner face conforming to the outside curvature of the bass drum wall, fastening means arranged to rigidly hold the block to the bass drum wall, a counterbore opening out of the bottom end of the block, and an elongated leg member received at its upper end in the said counterbore and adapted at its other end to rest upon .a floor support for the bass drum.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 577,145 McKeag Feb. 16, 1897 822,809 Young June 5, 1906 1,456,242 Leedy May 2.2, 1923 2,087,654 Pieper July 20, 1937 OTHER REFERENCES Leedy: Catalog #44, copyrighted 1939 (No. 7718). 

